...is for Kalashnikov

A literate child is less likely to pick up a gun. Being unable to read and write has been proven to leave alienated youth distrustful of the system and ultimately become easy targets to become child soldiers in armed conflicts and civil wars. It prevents children from even understanding why they're fighting. We need greater literacy to bring greater stability.

UNESCO (2014)

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How our partners have helped.

War Child works throughout many war torn nations, helping escaped children reintegrate into society and get their lives on track. By supporting children back into school, and providing counselling, War Child enables this reintegration.

War Child works throughout many war torn nations, helping escaped children reintegrate into society and get their lives on track. By supporting children back into school, and providing counselling, War Child enables this reintegration.
Agnes was 10 years old when she was abducted. She was forced to kill her friend, and raped repeatedly over three years until she escaped. Now, protected by War Child, she is getting the education and counselling she needs. She dreams of becoming a nurse.

Agnes lived in Uganda with her family. When she was 10 years old, working in her family’s vegetable garden, she was abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) led by the infamous Joseph Kony.

Many children who are abducted in situations like this are not just forced to fight and kill. They are made to take care of the rest of the army by performing domestic tasks like cooking and cleaning, and in many cases, they face sexual exploitation.

In Agnes’ first year in the Lord’s Resistance Army, she was given a choice when one of the other children was caught trying to escape. “They told me if I do not kill that person, they will kill me.”

When she turned 12, one of the commanders took her as one of his ‘wives’ and repeatedly raped her. Children taken as ‘wives’ are considered high value property by the rebel armies, and if one of these children escapes, the commanders will often go out of their way to recover them.

It was another year before Agnes managed to escape, finding her way to an army barracks without being found by the LRA. A few weeks later she was reunited with her sister.

“She was jumping up and down and raced to hug me… I was crying, she was crying, we were all crying.”

Because many children are subjected to sexual violence, they find it very difficult to recover. In some cases they are forced out of their homes, making the problem worse. War Child took Agnes and her sister to a safe place, and helped them deal with all they had seen and been forced to do.

Now, thanks to War Child’s mainstream education and life-skills programs, Agnes is on track with her schoolwork, and dreams of becoming a nurse.

“I want to be a nurse because I want to help people and make sure I can earn enough money to look after my family.”